Канадалық астрофизик және діни пайымдаушы Хью Норман Росс

Canadian astrophysicist

Hugh Norman Ross (born July 24, 1945) is a Christian apologist, and old Earth creationist. Ross obtained his Ph. D. in astronomy from the University of Toronto and his B. Sc. degree in physics from the University of British Columbia. He established his own ministry in 1986, called Reasons to Believe. Ross rejects both abiogenesis and evolution as explanations for the origin and history of life, contrary to the scientific consensus. Ross' position overlaps with that of intelligent design, but Ross argues that the evidence points to Jesus Christ as the designer, instead of an undefined intelligent designer.

Hugh Ross was born in Montreal, Quebec, and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia after moving there at the age of five. His parents were James Stewart Alexander Ross and Dorothy Isabel (Murray) Ross. He was interested in science from a young age, often reading science textbooks as a child. As a teenager, Ross read works by philosophers such as Immanuel Kant and Rene Descartes, but felt their works contained inconsistencies and contradictions. Ross also read Eastern holy books from religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism. He was inspired by the way the Bible described historical and scientific information, eventually becoming a Christian. He soon became convinced that the expansion of the universe and the Big Bang required a divine "cosmic beginner". While at Caltech Ross met Dave Rogstad and joined his Bible study group, which included his future wife, Kathleen Ann Drake. In 2012, Ross won the Trotter Prize, delivering the Trotter Lecture at Texas A&M University on "Theistic Implications for Big Bang Cosmology." Ross has made radio and television appearances, and his work has been covered by news outlets including Christianity Today, The Houston Chronicle, The LA Times, The Washington Post, and Fox News. In July 2022, Ross stepped down as CEO of Reasons to Believe to focus his efforts on writing and other endeavors.

Ross believes God has revealed his existence and divine nature through both the Bible and creation. He also believes that his creation model is empirically testable, and equally plausible as the evolutionary model. Ross also believes that the Earth is fine tuned for life, and that science and Christianity intersect rather than contradict each other. Ross believes that God has created the universe for a reason and desires a relationship with humans. Ross believes the record of creation is "like the 67th book of the Bible." He attempts to use science to find common ground with people, including secular scientists who reject the idea of God. He rejects the young Earth creationist positions that the earth is younger than 10,000 years and that the creation "days" of Genesis 1 represent literal 24 hour periods. Ross instead asserts that these days (translated from the Hebrew word yom) are historic, distinct, and sequential, but not 24 hours in length nor equal in length. Ross agrees with the scientific community that any version of intelligent design is inadequate if it does not provide a testable hypothesis which can make verifiable and falsifiable predictions, and if not, it should not be taught in the classroom as science. Ross has criticized young Earth creationists, in particular Russell Humphreys.

Ross married Kathy in 1977 and they have two sons. He has credited his autism with helping him become an astrophysicist and an expert on celestial bodies.